Dolly Parton has always been a vocal ally to our community throughout her career. This time, she’s speaking out against Tennessee’s anti-trans laws.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Parton was asked about Tennessee’s anti-trans legislature. Parton said she isn’t always interested in talking about “the politics of everything,” but that, “I just want everybody to be treated good.”
When it comes to Tennessee’s anti-trans legislation, Parton looks at it less as a political issue, and tries “to get into the human element of it.” She has friends and family in the LGBTQ+ and sees firsthand how these policies harm them.
“I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians. I’ve got drunks. I’ve got drug addicts — all within my own family. I know and love them all, and I do not judge. And I just see how broken-hearted they get over certain things and I know how real they are,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I know how important this is to them. That’s who they are. They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton, you know, the way people know me. If there’s something to be judged, that is God’s business. But we are all God’s children and how we are is who we are.”
In March, the same month that Gov. Bill Lee banned public drag performances in Tennessee, he signed a bill banning transgender health care for people under the age of 18. This bill prevents gender nonconforming youth from accessing hormones therapy and other gender affirming treatments. The public drag ban has since been deemed unconstitutional, and families of transgender children are now petitioning the Supreme Court to block the ban on gender affirming care for transgender youth.
Parton made it simple for us: “I just want everybody to be treated good.”
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